Huawei founder denies spying for China in rare interview

Huawei's reclusive founder Ren Zhengfei stepped out of the shadows Tuesday to give a rare media interview, forcefully denying accusations that his firm engaged in espionage on behalf of the Chinese government.

The company he founded more than 20 years ago has been under fire in recent months with the arrest of Ren's daughter and Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Canada, the arrest of an employee on spying charges in Poland, and a worldwide campaign by Washington to blacklist it.

A former Chinese army engineer, Ren denied that Huawei passed information along to the Chinese government.

"I love my country, I support the Communist Party. But I will not do anything to harm the world," Ren told a group of foreign reporters, according to Bloomberg News.

"I don't see a close connection between my personal political beliefs and the businesses of Huawei," he said.

Huawei faces unprecedented challenges to its business amid a global campaign by Washington to push nations to reconsider using the telecom giant's equipment in their cellular networks over security concerns.

Australia and New Zealand banned its gear last year and a top British operator moved to remove its existing equipment, while concerns grow in Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and other countries.

Last month Canada arrested Ren's daughter Meng on a US extradition request related to Iran sanctions violations.

Ren said he missed his daughter very much and denied any regular contact with the Chinese government, according to the Financial Times.

Some analysts say Beijing's ferocious response to her arrest points to the high-level connections that Washington alleges.

Chinese authorities detained two Canadian citizens -- a former diplomat and a business consultant -- on suspicion of endangering national security soon after Meng's arrest in a move widely seen as retaliation.

Then authorities revisited the little-known case of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November for drug offences.

On Monday he was sentenced to death in a hastily arranged retrial -- China has denied any of the cases are connected to Meng's situation.

In December President Donald Trump said he could intervene in the US case against Meng if it helped seal a trade deal with China -- a statement that displeased Canada, which has denied politics played a role in Meng's arrest.

- 'Trump a great president' -

"Trump is a great president. He dares to massively cut taxes, which will benefit business," Ren said at the roundtable with reporters.

"Huawei is only a sesame seed in the trade conflict between China and the US," he said, according to Bloomberg.

Ren told reporters Huawei would deny any request from Beijing to share sensitive information from its clients.

Huawei has long rejected such Western accusations, saying there was "no evidence" it poses a threat to the national security of any country.

But this month Poland arrested a Huawei employee suspected of spying for China.

The firm swiftly sacked the employee Wang Weijing, who led Huawei's sales team in Poland, and said "his alleged actions have no relation to the company".

Ren said he was not worried about the bans by some countries and forecast Huawei's revenue would grow to $125 billion in 2019.

"Huawei is not a public company, we don't need a beautiful earnings report," he said.

"If they don't want Huawei to be in some markets, we can scale down a bit. As long as we can survive and feed our employees, there's a future for us," he said, according to Bloomberg.

Key dates in China-Canada Huawei spat
Beijing (AFP) Jan 15, 2019 - Canada's arrest of a top executive of Chinese telecom giant Huawei kicked off a diplomatic row that escalated after a Canadian drug smuggling suspect was sentenced to death in China.

Huawei is a strategically key company for China's global high-tech ambitions but some of its services have been blocked in the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Britain while other countries have stepped up their scrutiny over security concerns. Here are the key dates since the arrest of Huawei's chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou.

- Initial arrest -

On December 1, Meng was arrested at the request of US authorities as she was changing planes in Vancouver, a move that infuriated Beijing, which threatened grave consequences if Meng was not freed.

China summoned the Canadian ambassador in protest on December 8 and the US ambassador a day later.

Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, a former Chinese People's Liberation Army engineer, is accused of lying to bankers about the use of a covert subsidiary to sell to Iran in breach of US sanctions. If convicted, she faces more than 30 years in prison.

She was released on Can$10 million (US$7.5 million) bail on December 11, allowing her to stay at a luxury home owned by her husband in Vancouver under electronic surveillance pending her US extradition hearing.

- Detentions in China -

On December 10, China detained Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat employed by think tank International Crisis Group (ICG) and business consultant Michael Spavor under suspicion of "engaging in activities that threatened China's national security."

US President Donald Trump said on December 11 he could intervene in the US case against Meng if it helps seal a trade deal with China -- statements that displeased Canada, which denied that politics played a role in Meng's arrest.

China confirmed on December 20 that a third Canadian, Sarah McIver, was arrested for "working illegally," but Canadian authorities have said that appears to be a routine visa case and she was since released and returned to Canada.

The arrests of Kovrig and Spavor are widely seen by observers as retaliation for Meng's detention. Canada called for their immediate release and appealed to allies for support in securing their release on December 22.

Ottawa said on January 3 that 13 Canadians had been detained in China since Meng's arrest, with eight subsequently released.

- 'Arbitrary detention' -

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump denounced China's "arbitrary detention" of two Canadians during a telephone call on January 7, according to officials.

Britain, France, Germany and the European Union have all also issued statements expressing concerns about the arrests.

- Arrest in Poland -

Poland said on January 11 it had arrested Wang Weijing, a Huawei director suspected of spying for China, in another high profile arrest for the company.

While China expressed concerns about the case, Huawei said Wang's alleged actions had no relation to the company and quickly fired him.

- Death sentence -

On Monday, diplomatic tensions were heightened when a court in northeast China sentenced Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg, 36, to death at a hastily scheduled retrial after his previous 15-year prison term for drug trafficking was deemed too lenient.

Schellenberg was detained well before the diplomatic feud, back in 2014, with the initial sentence passed down in November.

But in December, following an appeal, a high court in Liaoning province ruled that the sentence did not fit the severity of his crimes and ordered the new trial.

Following the death sentence Canada updated its travel advisory for China, warning citizens of the "risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws".

In response, China Tuesday warned its citizens of the "risks" of travel to Canada after what it called the "arbitrary" detention of Meng.

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